The first thing I noticed about the creature—
Was that the throne? Hated it.
Not fear.
Not anger.
Hatred.
Ancient.
Instinctive.
The kind carved into bloodlines so deeply that even memory refused to let it die.
The Devourer stood in the centre of the ruined cathedral, wrapped in living darkness while hundreds of crimson eyes opened and closed beneath its shifting skin.
Wrong.
Everything about it was wrong.
Its shape bent strangely, as reality itself disagreed with its existence.
And somehow—
Its smile was the worst part.
Too human.
Too familiar.
Too intelligent.
Interesting.
Very horrifying.
Very interesting.
The cathedral had gone silent.
No politics.
No arguments.
Only survival.
Good.
Finally.
Raphael stood beside me now instead of across from me.
Not an alliance.
Not trust.
Necessity.
Honestly?
Close enough.
His silver spear burnt brighter than before, holy flames twisting violently around the blade.
For the first time since meeting him—
I saw uncertainty.
Tiny.
But real.
That alone told me enough.
The Blade of God had fought monsters before.
This thing was different.
Seraphina's crimson flames wrapped around her arms instinctively.
Selene's frost covered the entire cathedral floor.
Lilith's royal aura crushed the air itself.
Valeria—
for once—
was not smiling.
Interesting.
Very bad.
Very interesting.
The Devourer looked at all of us calmly.
Like a wolf observing children holding knives.
Then its gaze returned to me.
"You smell like him."
Its voice echoed unnaturally.
Not loud.
Just impossible to ignore.
The throne beneath the cathedral pulsed violently.
Lucian.
Interesting.
Very personal.
I stepped forward slowly.
"Most people start conversations with names."
The creature tilted its head.
Bones cracked beneath its skin.
Wrong.
Very wrong.
"We abandoned names before your species discovered kingdoms."
Fair.
Rude.
But fair.
Valeria whispered beside me—
"I officially hate it."
Same.
Raphael raised his spear slightly.
"Devourers consumed entire civilisations before the first clans existed."
The creature looked at him.
Amused.
"Ah."
A smile.
"The obedient hunter."
Interesting.
Very interesting.
Raphael's expression hardened.
"You should have remained sealed."
The Devourer laughed softly.
The cathedral windows shattered instantly.
Good.
Great.
Perfectly normal conversation.
Then the creature looked toward Elena.
And everything changed.
Not mockery.
Recognition.
Ancient.
Painful.
"You still carry his grief."
Silence.
Elena froze.
Not physically.
Emotionally.
Like someone had reached into a wound that never healed and pressed harder.
I looked at her.
"You know this thing personally?"
The Devourer answered instead.
"She watched her king die."
Its smile widened.
"And she screamed beautifully."
The temperature in the cathedral dropped instantly.
Not Selene.
Not magic.
Pure killing intent.
Elena's crimson eyes burnt.
For the first time—
The saint disappeared completely.
Only the woman remained.
The woman who had watched Lucian fall.
Her voice shook once.
Tiny.
But deadly.
"You don't deserve to speak his name."
The Devourer stepped forward.
Darkness spread beneath its feet.
"Then kill me this time."
Silence.
Absolute.
That one hurt.
Because beneath all the horror—
There was history here.
Failure.
Loss.
Trauma is old enough to become a religion.
I looked at Elena carefully.
Then at the creature.
And realised something dangerous.
Lucian had not lost because he was weak.
He lost because this thing understood kings too well.
Interesting.
Very terrifying.
Very interesting.
The Devourer's eyes moved back toward me.
"You carry his blood."
A pause.
"But not his loneliness."
Its gaze shifted toward the queens beside me.
Seraphina.
Selene.
Lilith.
Valeria.
Then toward my family behind us.
Mother is still holding food containers during the apocalypse.
Legendary behaviour.
The creature smiled strangely.
"He finally learnt."
That—
That unsettled me more than threats.
I narrowed my eyes.
"You knew Lucian."
The Devourer's smile faded slightly.
And for the first time—
It looked old.
Not ancient.
Tired.
Interesting.
Very interesting.
"We knew each other before kings existed."
Silence.
Raphael stepped closer beside me.
"Do not listen to it."
The Devourer ignored him.
Of course.
Its eyes remained locked on mine.
"Your throne remembers war."
A pause.
"But it forgets why it began."
The cathedral became still.
Because truth—
even from monsters—
always sounded different.
I asked quietly—
"Why did you kill him?"
No one moved.
No one breathed.
Even the throne seemed to wait.
The Devourer answered softly—
"Because he chose the wrong world."
Silence.
That answer felt heavier than expected.
I frowned.
"That explains absolutely nothing."
Valeria nodded.
"Terrible villain speech."
The creature looked mildly offended.
Good.
Then—
unexpectedly—
It pointed toward the hunters.
Toward the Church.
Toward the clans.
Toward all of us.
"Your species creates kingdoms."
Its voice echoed through the cathedral.
"Borders."
"Power."
"Fear."
"You devour each other and call it civilisation."
A pause.
Darkness curled around its body like breathing shadow.
"We simply became honest about hunger."
Interesting.
Very dangerous philosophy.
Very familiar too.
Because assassins thought like that.
Monsters too.
Raphael stepped forward immediately.
"That is why your kind must die."
The Devourer looked at him.
And smiled sadly.
"You still believe extermination creates peace."
Silence.
Raphael's grip tightened.
Because somewhere beneath the conviction—
That sentence hit.
Good.
Truth should wound everyone equally.
I looked at the creature carefully.
Then, I asked the real question.
"What do you want?"
The Devourer answered instantly.
"You."
Of course.
Naturally.
Why would my life become simpler now?
The darkness around it deepened.
The throne beneath the cathedral shook violently in response.
"You are the final inheritance of the first king."
Its crimson eyes narrowed.
"And if you rise completely…"
A pause.
"…our war begins again."
There it was.
Not random destruction.
History.
Ancient history.
A war older than Heaven itself.
Interesting.
Very catastrophic.
Very interesting.
Seraphina stepped beside me instantly.
"You're not touching him."
The Devourer looked at her.
At the flames.
At the bond between us.
And for the first time—
It looked curious.
"Love again."
A pause.
Soft.
Almost pitying.
"That is why kings die."
Wrong answer.
Very wrong answer.
I smiled slowly.
"No."
The throne answered instantly.
Crimson-black power erupted around me.
Not hunger.
Not rage.
Choice.
I stepped forward.
The cathedral trembled beneath my heartbeat.
"Kings die when they stand alone."
Silence.
Absolute.
The Devourer stared at me.
Interesting.
Very interesting.
Behind me—
The queens moved closer.
Seraphina's flames.
Selene's moonlight.
Lilith's authority.
Valeria's chaos.
Raphael's silver spear is beside me instead of against me.
Elena is standing again despite her grief.
My family are refusing to run.
Everything.
All of it.
Mine.
I looked directly at the monster that killed the First King.
And for the first time—
I understood why Lucian failed.
Not weakness.
Isolation.
He carried the throne alone until it became heavier than love.
I would not repeat that mistake.
The Devourer tilted its head slowly.
Then—
unexpectedly—
It laughed.
Not mockingly.
Almost approvingly.
Interesting.
Very concerning.
Very interesting.
"Perhaps…"
The darkness around it began expanding rapidly across the cathedral floor.
"…you really are different."
Raphael immediately raised his spear.
"Enough talking."
Honestly?
Fair.
The Devourer looked at all of us one final time.
Then its eyes settled on me.
And its final words landed like prophecy.
"Then survive long enough to disappoint history."
The darkness exploded.
Every candle died.
The cathedral vanished beneath black shadow.
And suddenly—
The war for Heaven truly began.